


Our Tapestry

by fishdad (orphan_account)



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fantasy AU, inaweek_student, sorcerer!inaho, unicorn!slaine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9620102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/fishdad
Summary: Inaho is a student of magic with much to learn.





	1. Prologue: Warp

**Author's Note:**

> This tangentially relates to the student theme I guess. Happy second day of Inaweek!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cold night for cold deeds.

“You’re confident about your plan… _Commander_ Kaizuka?” The way the soldiers choke out his title like bile makes Inaho pause in his work – the preparation of a short, thin dagger, more like a needle than a blade. It glints in the light of the torches as he raises his one remaining eye to look at the men.

They recoil from his gaze. Or perhaps it is the gruesome wound that makes them take several steps back – Inaho has removed the eyepatch to dry it by the warmth of their campfire, after it was dampened by their trek through the snow. The scar is ugly, he knows. That is fine. Inaho has always tried to be the honest person that he knew his sister wanted him to be, and so it was best if his outward appearance matched his personality. As if in response to his thoughts, a lancing pain flares bright and burning in the place where his eye once was. Inaho ignores it. The pain will dull. It always does.

In a voice as flat as the barren, white-blanketed field they stood on, Inaho says, “I am not here to inspire confidence. I am here to ensure that the mission succeeds.”

He inspects the dagger again. Satisfied, he stows it away into his robes. The steel disappears into its travel-stained ochre folds like a shadow shying away from sunlight. Inaho stands. The moon has waned almost to nothingness. Clouds shield the stars. The forest before them stretches away into murky nothingness, as if those once-familiar trees had now become an abyss, unknowable and forbidding. The silver pendant hangs heavy around Inaho’s neck, a stranglehold that binds him to his duty.

_Sorcery is a dangerous art to pursue, Inaho. There’s always a price._

_If the reward outweighs the risk, then it is only logical to attempt it._

In hindsight, he should have given more thought to what he had to lose, instead of focusing only on what he could have gained.

With a sharp gesture, he extinguishes the fire. Inaho begins to walk towards the forest, lowering his hood to hide his face while his heavy boots broke the surface of freshly fallen snow. “We’re moving out.”

Behind him he can hear the men hastily getting into formation to follow him.

He doesn’t look back.

He can’t look back.

Memories, after all, are worthless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warp is the lengthwise or longitudinal thread in a roll held in tension on a frame or loom to create cloth.


	2. First Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look at things gone past; times forgotten... or simply buried with shaking hands?

Inaho can’t take his eyes off the fallen tree. Judging from the way the upended roots ended broken, blackened stumps, the uncontrolled blast seemed to have grounded itself in them, then shot its way up the trunk leaving a trail of cracked bark. There’s still a hint of sparks deep in its core. The whole oak still smokes slightly, little wisps of white curling their way to the sky until a warm summer breeze disperses them to nothingness. The damage stretches away from the fallen tree in a circle of withered grass, blades turned grey and brittle. All except for the place where Inaho had been standing mere seconds ago – there is still a patch of green there, vivid in ruins that surround it.

The few pebbles and dead, brown leaves that litter the ground seem untouched.

_It targeted everything living?_ Inaho makes a note of his observation.

“You’re awfully calm for someone that almost got squashed flat,” a voice says. Inaho cannot see the owner of the voice. He – it sounds like a he, at least – has strong, muscular yet lithe arms that firmly grip Inaho’s waist. His silky hair tickles Inaho’s cheek as he talks right into Inaho’s ear, his chest pressed up against Inaho’s back. Inaho should be trying to draw away; he usually despises close contact with people. But this person is warm and Inaho’s heart is still beating like a rabbit’s from both the residual magic and the fact that he’d almost died… and this person is _so warm.._.

The person tenses. “Are… are you alright? Don’t just go limp like that! Hey!”

“I wasn’t going limp. I was deliberately leaning into you,” Inaho points out. The person shifts in a way that makes it obvious that Inaho is no longer welcome on his lap, so Inaho stands and turns-

To see that he hadn’t been talking to a person at all.

Well, that explained the speed and strength of his saviour, anyway.

The creature before him is instantly identifiable by its elegant horn, straight as a rapier and spiral-grooved and same silvery gold shade as its long, wavy hair. Aside from that, its face appears human, although the creamy paleness of its skin and delicate features along with bright blue eyes lend its visage a sense of etherealness. In its human guise the unicorn wears a fine, shimmering cloak that appears to be made of white velvet; this is probably what its hide looks like in its true form. It’s also wearing a frown; long ears flicking indignantly, it says, “Leaning into me? I know I just saved your life, but that doesn’t mean you should act so familiar with me… You didn’t even say thank you!”

“Thank you for saving me.” Inaho knows that he doesn’t do a good job of showing it, but he is grateful – it’s clear that the unicorn managed to stop the spell from harming him, which is no mean feat. To deflect rouge magic would take a human years of practice and honing their craft. But his saviour had apparently accomplished this in a split second; a bit later, and the damage inflicted on the oak would have been directed at his body instead.

He could learn a lot from this creature. Holding out his hand, Inaho says, “My name is Inaho.”

“Slaine,” Slaine answers, taking his gloved hand after a moment’s hesitation. The warmth of the unicorn’s touch quickly seeps into the ragged material of his glove and lingers afterwards – a strange sensation, but not unpleasant. The magic coats his hand and leaves it tingling. Inaho commits the feeling, the feeling of _magic_ , to memory.

Slaine continues to speak. “You’re welcome, but you really shouldn’t be practicing sorcery in the middle of a forest like this.”

“I can’t afford the proper training. If I practiced at the edge of the forest near the town, people would become afraid and stop me. So I have to practice in the middle of the forest.” Inaho brushes himself off and tries to get his bearings. There was another suitable meadow nearby, and he was quite certain that he knew what had gone wrong the last time…

Slaine catches up to him easily. The sound of his footsteps - hoofsteps? – is accompanied by strange slithering and clinking. Inaho stops and identifies the source of the sound; a long chain that chafes against Slaine’s neck that had been hidden by the collar his cloak and tangled hair. It trails down to the ground, grey metal links that glint where they catch sunlight. Seeing Slaine shifts his cloack so that the chain is hidden once more before he says, “Hey! Don’t just wander off! You’re not going to try to practice alone again, are you?”

“Of course not,” Inaho replies. “Now you’re with me.”

The snort that Slaine gives in response is distinctly horse-like, but lighter and softer, somewhere between a huff and a sneeze. It is, Inaho decides, more of a snuffle. Inaho tells Slaine this.

“You’re an annoying human,” Slaine says, but he unicorn doesn’t stray from Inaho’s side until sunset when Inaho decides that he’s had enough magic for the day and prepares to head back into town.

At the edge of the forest, while the wind plays in the branches so that they rustle and sigh, Inaho turns to Slaine and asks, “Why did you stay by my side? Why did you save me?”

Slaine shrugs. “Because I could.”

It isn’t much of an answer, but Slaine’s arms are folded and his ears are flattened and his eyes are narrowed – Inaho finds Slaine’s mood much easier to read than that of most humans; such hostile body language meant he wasn’t going to get an elaboration. So Inaho tamps down his curiosity and gives Slaine a wave, which is grudgingly returned. Just before Inaho steps back onto the path that led to the town, Slaine calls out, “Don’t tell anyone we met!”

“I won’t,” Inaho reassures. 

Slaine nods once, then turns. With a few easy strides it – no, Inaho realises, he – has melted back into the shadows of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the story I'm happiest with but let's see how this goes. Next chapter will be in around a week.


	3. Second Thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past binds, a weight that follows those caught in its grasp.

Fire appears at his fingertips, painting his hand with orange and gold hues. Inaho carefully passes his other hand over the flames. They do not burn. Instead, they leave a pleasant warm feeling on his skin, tingling with energy. As if he had taken sunshine and placed it into his palm. “Oh, you’re getting good at that one,” Slaine says. The unicorn is eating an apple – Inaho can hear each crunch as Slaine bites into the crisp flesh of the fruit. The basket of apples Inaho brought is almost empty. Slaine eats even the cores, but is always careful to spit out the seeds, which he collects on a large leaf by his side. The unicorn finishes off his latest one with relish, licking the sweet juices off his fingers with a small, pink tongue. Each slender digit is cleaned with the utmost care. The deft flicks of Slaine’s tongue that leaves his hands shiny with silvery saliva.

There’s a sudden flare of energy and Inaho gasps as the fire burns his hand, causing him to draw back on instinct. The flames, now freed from Inaho’s control, start to drop towards the dry autumn grass – then, it arcs gracefully through the air in a stream of dancing embers to land in Slaine’s outstretched hand. Slaine clicks his fingers. The spell disperses.

Inaho looks at his injured hand. The pain is quite severe, as if a little lightning storm was trapped beneath his skin. He’s not certain how to contain the damage and the energy is spreading, he can feel the lancing stabs of magic going up his arm-

And then Slaine is there, holding his hand gently and bending down to the ruined flesh so that the point of his long horn brushes lightly against where the skin is cracked and swollen. The magic instantly recedes, racing down to where the horn met Inaho’s palm, then manifesting as a golden light that Slaine eases out into the air to disperse. The pain dulls significantly. Inaho nods his thanks. “Your horn. It’s aldnoah, isn’t it?”

Slaine pauses, tensing. The angle of his ears make it easy for Inaho to judge his mood; Inaho wonders why his question made Slaine anxious. _And he redirected my magic with ease again. He’s always quick to notice when spells go out of control._  

“You seem to know the answer already, so there’s no point in denying it,” Slaine replies as he licks his fingers, coating them thoroughly in spit. Before Inaho realises what he means to do, he rubs the damp mess all over Inaho’s hand. The boy is disgusted at first, but then the coolness and relief seeps through. He watches, impressed, as the skin heals and returns to its normal colour. Slaine inspects his handiwork, softly running his own fingers over Inaho’s hand to check for signs of remaining damage as he says, “You can’t let yourself get distracted like that. That could have ended badly-”

“-if you hadn’t been here,” Inaho finishes for him. “But you’re always here. I’ve wondered why you don’t go deeper into the forest. Isn’t that where most unicorns live?”

Slaine laughs, but it’s not joyful. “That makes it sound like there are more of us around than there…. actually are.” He’s quiet for a moment, staring down at his hoofed feet, before turning his head back towards Inaho. “I can’t, anyway. I can’t change back and this-” he gestures to the chain around his neck “-gets in the way.”

Inaho walks over to where the metal links end. They look broken. He picks the chain up to look at it more closely but drops it when Slaine lets out a cry. Concerned, Inaho asks, “Did I hurt you?”

“No. Didn’t it hurt _you?_ ”

Inaho picks the chain up again. He runs the thing through his newly healed hand. It’s cold but otherwise strangely smooth, although they emanate that aura of magic that Inaho has come to associate with Slaine. New. Completely free from dirt and grime, which is strange considering how Slaine must have been dragging it around since before Inaho met him. Frowning, Inaho goes up to Slaine and lift up the heavy loops around his neck. Red welts show up clearly against Slaine’s pale skin, bleeding in places that have been rubbed raw. Slaine snatches Inaho’s hand away and yanks up the collar of his coat to hide the marks.

“Those chains are magic,” Inaho observed. Slaine grunts and says nothing. “They seem to be manmade. You were captured by humans at some point in the past.”

The unicorn takes several quick steps away from him, so that the chain snakes out of his hands and falls to the forest floor. They stand in silence for a moment. Then, Slaine asks him in a quiet voice, “Why do you want to learn sorcery anyway?”

“I am talented at it,” Inaho replies. “It’s a valuable skill that can help elevate my standing.”

“I didn’t take you for a social climber,” Slaine scoffs. There’s an edge to his voice that Inaho has never heard before.

“A higher status would ensure a better future for me and my sister. But that is not the only reason. I also want to see how far my abilities can grow. Magic is still poorly understood. It’s an interesting subject to study.”

Slaine turns to him again. His glare softens. There’s some emotion in his eyes and written on his face, but Inaho can’t read it. Not for the first time he wished that Yuki was there to help him – but Slaine had forbidden Inaho from bringing anyone else into the forest, and Inaho had sought out the privacy of the forest to make sure Yuki was away from his dangerous practicing in the first place. However, Inaho is confident enough that Slaine’s small, if not particularly enthusiastic, smile means that he’s no longer angry. When the unicorn spoke, it was slowly and softly, and he gaze was unfocused, as if he was looking at something far away. A memory. “Curiosity? Learning magic for the sake of learning. Hah. All you’ve managed to do was not blow yourself up.”

“I want to see what I can do.” The accidents come fewer now. He’s fast running out of basic spells to practice. Inaho has taken to putting on short demonstrations for his friends in the village and they’ve been demanding to see ever more spectacular displays – Magbaredge, the chief of the village, had even expressed a desire to have him perform at the upcoming fair.

Slaine’s smile twists into something more bitter. “It’s late. You should be heading back.”

“You don’t approve of my studies.”

“Not like I can stop you,” Slaine says. He picks up the leaf full of apple seeds and carefully wraps it up, stowing it in his cloak. Inaho likewise packs up his books – there are only three, and they’ve become rather tatty from overuse – and other belongings.

Just before the unicorn disappears from sight between the moss-covered trees and undergrowth, he turns and calls out, “Be careful! Magic is dangerous.”

He’s gone before Inaho can reassure him. The idea that the creature is alone in the woods with that chafing chain around his neck worrying about him sits uncomfortably with Inaho for the next few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fic will update more slowly now


End file.
